His frustration was understandable. The key was that he couldn't afford to offend anyone.
What he had just said was more like impotent rage.
Revenge? Revenge on whom? On the various factions that had jointly pressured him to propose a multinational joint naval exercise? His own financial backers were among them. Would he seek revenge on all of them?
Whether he had the ability to or not, within the rules of the political game, once the benefits and the effort are not proportional, then everything is wrong. A seasoned political animal would have long since abandoned such anger.
Revenge on the ruler of Madripoor who had caused this incident? His identity was still a mystery. The CIA, FBI, and other intelligence agencies had mobilized all their forces but couldn't find a single clue. And in fact, what could they do even if they did find out?
Just a test, and in return, 25,000 soldiers and officers and two aircraft carrier battle groups were destroyed.
Hundreds of miles of sea had been directly turned into another small Arctic.
When the incident happened, there was no communication whatsoever. The communication was cut off, and the entire fleet was destroyed in a short amount of time. There were no survivors. Is this something a human can do?
Even Magneto, previously known as the world's most terrifying terrorist, wasn't this frightening.
Although Magneto was powerful, they could at least see hope of defeating him. He had weaknesses and constraints. What about this person? Nothing was known.
The unknown is the most terrifying thing.
Who knew if this was just the tip of the iceberg? If that terrible person was truly angered and went straight to the White House, who could stop him?
Not only the president, but all the senior officials present fell silent.
When the Madripoor incident occurred, they knew the intelligence summary clearly stated that the mysterious man was more dangerous than Magneto, but they had been self-righteous and arrogant. Or perhaps, the people behind them wanted to test him through some means within the rules.
They hadn't expected the other party to flip the table and play an open hand. This massacre might just be a warning. Next time, who could guarantee there wouldn't be a large-scale retaliation?
Didn't you see that one hour after the joint exercise fleet in the Strait of Malacca was wiped out, all kinds of sanctions against Madripoor were quietly lifted around the world?
Clearly, the people behind the scenes were also scared.
After a long silence, the president turned around and said tiredly: "Hold a press conference. I will take responsibility for this incident. In addition, we must suppress the negative impact and divert the public's attention. We need to prove to the world again, through other means, that the United States is still the strongest country."
The president was not lacking in political acumen. The negative impact of this incident could not be eliminated through direct retaliation, so it could only be diverted, which was the most common method.
The other senior officials also tacitly agreed.
As for who the target of the demonstration would be, wasn't that an easy choice? There were a lot of conflicts in the Middle East. At any rate, they weren't too bad at anti-terrorism operations and stirring up trouble.
"Also, completely cancel the sanctions against the port of Madripoor and send people to visit Madripoor in the name of cooperation."
It would be better if the president himself visited, but he was so scared just thinking about the person who had slaughtered 25,000 soldiers and officers without any scruples.
If he went, he might be caught and hanged in front of the whole world, and then be remembered for thousands of years. The president didn't doubt whether the other party would dare to do so.
Soon, in the office, the president and the senior military and political leaders reached a tacit understanding. The president, as the person in charge, would take responsibility and step down to mitigate the impact.
As for whether the anger over there would be appeased and what price would be paid, that was a story for later.
The president's sacrifice would ensure his family received the treatment they deserved and regained political capital.
The deals made in secret are always so ugly.
The president knew this very well, but under the rules of this political game, he had no choice, especially when he sat in this position.
Soon, at the president's instruction, a press conference was held, directly defining this incident as a rare meteorological disaster that occurs once every thousand years. Regardless of whether the public believed it, the official line would be established.
The president took responsibility for this.
He was in tears, lamenting the deaths of the 25,500 soldiers and officers, and claimed that he would mobilize rescue forces at all costs to break the ice in the hundreds of kilometers of sea and would never let the cold current affect the world, and so on.
The main theme was a sincere, world-leader style.
In addition, a large number of so-called experts from various news TV stations appeared, conducting a series of simulations and using extremely "professional" rhetoric to explain how the sea near the Strait of Malacca could freeze over in a short period of time, in an attempt to make the public believe it.
In Leon's home
"What nonsense," Li Xiang said, sitting on the living room sofa. He ate an apple and looked at the so-called experts on the TV in front of him with disdain.
On the second floor, his wife, Amy, had just coaxed the two little babies to sleep. She walked down and sat next to her husband, resting her head on his shoulder, and stared at the TV in a daze.
As Leon's parents, they knew very well what kind of world-shaking things their son had done. Both of them were proud, but they were also a little worried.
It seemed that their eldest son had too much killing intent. It was fine that more than 100,000 people were burned to ashes in Madripoor—after all, they were all serious criminals—but these 25,000 soldiers weren't all sinners.
Amy voiced her worries, but Li Xiang looked at his wife seriously: "Leon's future is unimaginable; he is on the road to becoming a god."
"A god can have mercy on the world and bring peace and tranquility to people, but at the same time, a god is sacred and inviolable. Leon knows what he is doing. What we should give is support and understanding. Do you understand, dear?"
Amy thought about it. Yes, she knew exactly what kind of person her son was, and she just needed to know that Leon would never become a devil.
Besides, if she didn't support her son, would she support someone who had nothing to do with her?
(End of Chapter)
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